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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. present — there
  3. bat — the animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — a series
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ball — a great time
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. row — a line
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. present — the time now
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — a match
  24. row — to paddle

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