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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. court — for sport
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cell — in biology
  8. court — of law
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — a practice
  11. object — a thing
  12. drill — army training
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. object — an aim
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — a sick person

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