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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.

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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — of water
  5. staff — employees
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spring — the season
  8. staff — employees
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. tube — a container
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ball — a dance
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rock — music
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. staff — a stick
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rock — a stone

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