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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. craft — boats
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. craft — a skill
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. craft — a handicraft

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