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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. press — newspapers
  3. cold — not warm
  4. court — for sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of law
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. squash — to crush
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. file — a line of people
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. court — of a king
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. 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