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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 124 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 transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spell — magic
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. shower — to wash
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. squash — to crush
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — a short time
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ground — crushed
  16. swing — music
  17. ground — a position
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — rain
  20. swing — in golf
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — letters
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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