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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — boats
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. craft — a skill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — a position
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. game — a match
  18. ground — crushed
  19. present — the time now
  20. cell — in biology
  21. ground — the earth
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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