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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cap — a lid
  3. staff — employees
  4. cell — a phone
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — in music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — in biology
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cap — a hat

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