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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 120 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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. land — ground
  7. mug — a cup
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — a country
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a face
  19. land — to come down
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — employees

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