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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — electric
  6. staff — employees
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — a subject
  11. staff — a stick
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. deal — an agreement

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