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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · fan · kid · patient · arm · wound · ball · court

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — child
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ball — a dance
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. court — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — a match
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. game — a kind of play

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