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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: deal · mug · ground · patient · cold · rest · ball · spring

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spring — the season
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spring — a coil
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spring — of water
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rest — a break
  16. mug — a face
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — a position
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ball — a round shape

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