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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. swing — in golf
  4. game — a match
  5. swing — to play on
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. game — wild animals
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. net — for catching
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. swing — music
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. net — after costs
  17. firm — decided
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kid — to tease
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. net — in sport
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. firm — a company

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