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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cap — of ice
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — the earth
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. ground — a position
  8. object — a thing
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — of water
  14. object — to protest
  15. cap — a lid
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. object — an aim
  18. spring — a coil

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