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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. can — a tin
  5. hand — help
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — of water
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hand — in cards
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stand — to bear
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. can — a tin
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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