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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — of a king
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bore — to drill
  6. board — a committee
  7. ground — crushed
  8. last — finally
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. court — of law
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — a position
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. board — to get on
  23. bore — to tire
  24. court — for sport

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