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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. swing — to play on
  6. court — of a king
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. firm — a company
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — decided
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. court — of law
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cold — an illness
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — for sport
  24. deal — a big deal

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