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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to sink
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. can — a tin
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — music
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — low music
  23. hand — help
  24. chest — of your body

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