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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. can — to be able to
  3. hand — help
  4. pit — a hole
  5. can — a tin
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — army training
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. club — for golf
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — a practice
  20. club — a group
  21. can — a tin
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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