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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rash — a series
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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