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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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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. hand — help
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — a line
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — a skill
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stem — to come from
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. deal — a big deal

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