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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. club — for golf
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rock — a stone
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rock — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — child
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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