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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitch — completely
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — the season
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — of water
  14. rash — hasty
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rash — a series
  24. last — finally

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