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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — to tease
  3. charge — in control
  4. suit — clothes
  5. plane — a tool
  6. land — ground
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. charge — a price
  9. land — a country
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. field — farmland
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — for sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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