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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kid — child
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a partner
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — a position
  13. kid — to tease
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rock — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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