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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. scale — in music
  8. shower — rain
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. scale — size or range
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. march — music

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