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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spring — of water
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. suit — to fit
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — the fish
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — rain
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — humankind
  18. wind — moving air
  19. suit — clothes
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. suit — in cards
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — the instrument

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