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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: mouse · stick · cold · tear · last · patient · deal · hand

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. last — finally
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hand — help

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