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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bore — to drill
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a match
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bore — to tire
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. court — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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