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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. shower — rain
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. degree — from a university
  16. court — of law
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. degree — an amount
  20. dip — to sink
  21. court — of a king
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — in a road
  24. dip — to dunk

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