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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. spring — the season
  6. club — for dancing
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — a group
  17. dip — to sink
  18. club — for golf
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — in cards
  24. foot — a measure

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