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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. root — the cause
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kick — in football
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. band — a ring
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — wild animals
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. root — of a word
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a music group
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. root — of a plant
  24. game — a kind of play

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