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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spell — a short time
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chest — a box
  13. spell — magic
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — a series
  18. chest — of your body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — a position
  23. branch — a division
  24. jam — a tight spot

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