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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · deal · patient · tear · land · date · bass · spring

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spring — of water
  6. tear — to rip
  7. land — to come down
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. spring — the season
  22. date — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bass — low music

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