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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — to rip
  8. staff — a stick
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. snap — to click
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — of water
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — employees
  24. tear — from crying

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