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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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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. present — a gift
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cold — an illness
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. swing — music
  18. fine — high quality

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