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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rash — a series
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — rain
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pit — a hole
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rash — hasty
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ball — a round shape

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