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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bank — for money
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bank — for money
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bank — of a river
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spring — the season
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — for digging
  22. spring — of water
  23. pit — a hole
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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