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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. shower — rain
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pound — a weight
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — a series
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wake — a trail
  14. sharp — clever
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pound — for dogs

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