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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. date — the fruit
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — rain
  13. cell — in biology
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cold — not warm
  18. patient — a sick person

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