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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 120 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mug — a face
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. march — music
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. deal — to handle
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mug — to rob
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. row — a line
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — the animal
  24. temple — a place of worship

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