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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ball — a dance
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — rain
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kid — to tease
  16. board — a committee
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. board — to get on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. coach — a trainer

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