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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — wild animals
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. race — humankind
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — of water
  7. race — a contest
  8. mate — a partner
  9. date — the fruit
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — to breed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. mate — a friend
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — the arms race

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