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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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. row — a line
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mark — a grade
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — child
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — to paddle
  22. swing — music
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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