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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ball — a great time
  6. court — of law
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cell — in biology
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. perch — the fish
  16. squash — to crush
  17. ball — a dance
  18. court — of a king
  19. land — to come down
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cell — a phone
  22. land — ground
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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