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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pop — soda
  4. hand — in cards
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pop — to visit
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pop — music
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. last — to go on
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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