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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — clever
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rash — a series
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cold — an illness
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. band — a ring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pit — in a race
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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