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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mate — a friend
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — to trim
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — wild animals
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — to play on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mate — a partner
  15. drill — army training
  16. mate — to breed
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. drill — a practice
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com