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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lie — to recline
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stock — goods
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — a video

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