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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — of water
  3. deal — to handle
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. key — in music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. key — the most important part
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hand — help
  20. spring — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. key — for a lock
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — a coil

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