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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — in golf
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — music
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. ground — the earth
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to click
  15. swing — to play on
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — a position
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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