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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. hand — help
  4. shower — to wash
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — rain
  12. mark — a grade
  13. swing — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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