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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — child
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ground — a position
  7. key — the most important part
  8. kid — to tease
  9. hand — help
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ground — crushed
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. hand — in cards
  18. foot — a measure
  19. board — to get on
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. key — in music
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. key — for a lock
  24. foot — the bottom

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