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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · foot · mine · cold · wound · pit · bass · hand

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bass — the fish
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. hand — in cards
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bass — low music
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. cold — the Cold War

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