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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — help
  4. staff — employees
  5. game — a match
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. suit — to fit
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. suit — in cards
  12. game — wild animals
  13. staff — employees
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — in cards
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — a stick
  24. suit — clothes

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