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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. firm — steady
  3. bass — low music
  4. last — final
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — the season
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. last — finally
  11. bass — the fish
  12. firm — decided
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. firm — a company
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — to go on
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bass — the instrument

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