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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — music
  9. spell — magic
  10. spring — a coil
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hand — in cards
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. degree — temperature
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spring — the season

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