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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. last — finally
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — help
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. key — the most important part
  10. last — to go on
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. last — final
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cold — not warm
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cold — an illness
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. key — in music
  24. hand — part of the body

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