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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — to come down
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — the earth
  8. fall — the season
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — a country
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — to drop
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. court — of law
  16. land — ground
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bore — to drill
  19. ground — a position
  20. bore — to tire
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — for sport
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. court — of a king

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