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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.

Words on the sheet
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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fine — all right
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — finally
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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