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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. vault — a safe
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cue — a hint
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bass — low music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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