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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — of law
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a ring
  9. hand — help
  10. field — for sport
  11. mug — a cup
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. court — for sport
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fall — to drop
  19. court — of a king
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — in cards
  24. band — a music group

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