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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · ground · cold · patient · object · calf · scale · game

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. object — to protest
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — the earth
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — a position
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — in music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ball — a dance
  22. scale — size or range
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. calf — a young animal

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