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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. band — a ring
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — a match
  5. bore — to tire
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. band — a music group
  14. bore — to drill
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. rash — a series
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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