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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bound — certain
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rash — a series
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fine — high quality
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — obliged
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — hasty

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