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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: craft · deal · spring · wound · patient · mouse · key · kid

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kid — child
  3. craft — a skill
  4. key — in music
  5. spring — the season
  6. key — the most important part
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. craft — boats
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — an injury
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. key — for a lock
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mouse — the animal

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