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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — in sport
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of a king
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. staff — a stick
  7. suit — clothes
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. suit — to fit
  12. rash — a series
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. suit — in cards
  15. net — for catching
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — after costs
  21. staff — employees
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — to wash

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