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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a hat
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. present — the time now
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wound — an injury
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. present — a gift
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. staff — employees
  18. present — there
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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