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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. club — a group
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. ball — a dance
  5. club — for golf
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rash — a series
  12. season — in sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — of the year
  23. hand — help
  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