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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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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: face · tube · patient · land · last · board · deal · hand

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. deal — to handle
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — finally
  5. face — to point toward
  6. board — a committee
  7. land — ground
  8. last — to go on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hand — help
  15. land — to come down
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. last — final
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. land — a country
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. board — to get on

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