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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mate — to breed
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — a partner
  12. can — a tin
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. land — ground
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — a country
  21. can — to be able to
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ground — the earth

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