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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rule — government
  7. court — of a king
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of law
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bass — low music
  18. rule — a law
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. tear — from crying
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a dance

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