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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. court — for sport
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. shower — to wash
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — hurry
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. shower — rain
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of a king
  22. rash — a series
  23. court — of law
  24. row — a line

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