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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. club — a group
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. squash — to crush
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. shower — to wash
  11. club — for golf
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a match
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. club — for dancing
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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