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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · mine · patient · stick · ground · march · wind · hide

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — a position
  3. spring — of water
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ground — crushed
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. march — music
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wind — moving air
  24. march — the month

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