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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — the earth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pit — in a race
  20. march — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ground — a position

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