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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — a country
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — a video
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down

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