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

Word bank: patient · pitch · stick · deal · spring · chest · last · craft

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. last — to go on
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. deal — to handle
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spring — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. craft — a skill

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