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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — farmland
  4. deal — to handle
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — certain
  17. drill — a practice
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. date — the fruit
  24. drill — the tool

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