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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: ground · arm · patient · tear · hand · track · mug · fine

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. hand — in cards
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mug — a cup
  10. fine — high quality
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. track — a path
  16. mug — a face
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. ground — the earth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — help
  22. fine — all right
  23. ground — a position
  24. mug — to rob

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