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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · cold · spring · ground · board · patient · pitcher · stick

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — to breed
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mate — a partner
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — the season
  13. board — to get on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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