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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. game — a match
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. game — wild animals
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — a leader
  14. deal — to handle
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — the season
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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