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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. march — the month
  7. court — of a king
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — goods
  11. march — music
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. court — for sport
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — from a university
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. face — to confront
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — of law

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