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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 120 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. object — to protest
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cap — a hat
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. object — an aim
  11. rash — hasty
  12. court — of law
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. cap — a lid
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mine — for digging
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. object — a thing
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rash — a series
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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