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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 116 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ball — a great time
  3. club — for golf
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — high quality
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — a phone
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fine — all right
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. squash — the sport
  19. club — a group
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cell — in biology
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ball — a dance

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