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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: patient · hand · deal · spring · bat · rash · firm · mate

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. firm — decided
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. firm — a company
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. patient — a sick person

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