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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — a video
  22. tear — to rip
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. calf — a young 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