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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 124 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. net — for catching
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bound — certain
  7. roll — a cake
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spring — a coil
  11. swing — music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. race — a contest
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — obliged
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — a list
  19. swing — to play on
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — humankind
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a dance

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