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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bound — obliged
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bound — certain
  15. tube — a container
  16. rash — hasty
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mate — to breed
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — a series
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — a partner
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bat — for baseball

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