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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. hand — help
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pop — soda
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rash — a series
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pop — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a match
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cap — a hat
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rash — on the skin

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