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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bound — tied together
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mate — a friend
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. scale — size or range
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kid — child
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. scale — in music
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bound — certain
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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