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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pound — a weight
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. spring — of water
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rest — a break
  17. mug — a face
  18. spring — the season
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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