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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kid — child
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bank — for money
  16. ground — crushed
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bank — for money

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