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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tube — the underground
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — of a king
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. last — final
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bear — the animal
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pop — soda
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bear — the animal
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. tube — a container
  22. court — of law
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — finally

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