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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — of a king
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. land — to come down
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — rain
  12. craft — boats
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spring — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rush — hurry
  19. court — of law
  20. land — a country
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — ground
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. court — for sport

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