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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. plane — a tool
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bear — the animal
  11. object — to protest
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm

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