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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rock — music
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. ground — crushed
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rock — a stone
  16. ground — a position
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kid — child
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — of water

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