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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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. firm — steady
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. firm — decided
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. club — a group
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a line
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — a trail
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for golf
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. firm — a company
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — an illness

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