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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. last — finally
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — to go on
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — child
  23. spring — the season
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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