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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bass — the fish
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spring — of water
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  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