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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spring — the season
  5. ground — crushed
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — child
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chip — for betting
  15. ground — a position
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spring — of water
  21. kid — to tease
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chip — to eat

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