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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. staff — a stick
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — low music
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mate — a friend
  21. staff — employees
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. game — a match
  24. mate — to breed

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