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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — an illness
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — for paper
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — a line
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cold — not warm
  19. key — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fan — to cool the air

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