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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lie — to recline
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — to wash
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. swing — in golf
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. hand — in cards
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. game — a match
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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