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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mug — a face
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mug — a cup
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rash — a series
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — to keep secret

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