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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lie — to recline
  5. present — a gift
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. court — of a king
  8. rash — a series
  9. present — there
  10. court — of law
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tube — a container
  15. court — for sport
  16. present — the time now
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — hasty
  24. tube — in a tire

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