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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. court — of law
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. court — for sport
  6. snap — to click
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — final
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. court — of a king
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. last — finally
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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