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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: saw · object · patient · ground · hand · staff · leaves · tear

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. object — an aim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. staff — a stick
  9. ground — crushed
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. ground — a position
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — in cards
  18. object — a thing
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. staff — employees
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tear — from crying
  23. object — to protest
  24. ground — the earth

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