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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fine — all right
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bass — low music
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. race — humankind
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. fine — high quality

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