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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fine — all right
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. spring — of water
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fine — high quality
  9. court — of law
  10. wind — moving air
  11. court — of a king
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spring — the season
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spring — a coil
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. court — for sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. degree — temperature
  24. deal — a big deal

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