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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. swing — music
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bear — the animal

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