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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. tube — a container
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mug — a face
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — obliged
  11. shower — rain
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bound — certain
  20. mug — a cup
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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