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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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Word bank
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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 is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kid — child
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pit — a hole
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. band — a music group
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ground — a position
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a ring
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — crushed

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