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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pop — soda
  7. cold — not warm
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pop — music
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. court — of law
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. court — of a king
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mark — a trace
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mark — a grade
  24. safe — out of danger

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