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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — the season
  5. cap — a lid
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. face — to confront
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. face — part of the head
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. snap — to click
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fall — to drop
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — belonging to me

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