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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — to grow
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. foot — a measure
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. game — a match
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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