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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hand — help
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — not warm
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — in cards
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. can — a tin
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. can — a tin
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tear — to rip

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