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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — a video
  15. hand — help
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. hand — in cards
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. hand — part of the body

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