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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spring — of water
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — the season
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wax — in the ear
  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