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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fine — all right
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. firm — decided
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. firm — a company
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. date — the fruit
  10. row — to paddle
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ball — a dance
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. hand — help
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — a line
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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