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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — a coil
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — a match
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lie — to recline
  15. spell — a short time
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — a stick
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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