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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. hand — help
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. drill — army training
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hand — in cards
  10. drill — a practice
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to click
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cold — an illness

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