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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — an illness
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. shower — rain
  12. kid — to tease
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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