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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — a coil
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. board — a committee
  10. spring — the season
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. board — to get on
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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