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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. kid — child
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. ball — a great time
  11. game — a match
  12. ball — a dance
  13. hand — in cards
  14. board — a committee
  15. pound — a weight
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — to get on
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mark — a trace
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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