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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. degree — from a university
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a match
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rest — a break
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bound — certain
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — for digging
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — temperature
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bound — obliged

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