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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spell — letters
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. face — to confront
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — magic
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stand — to bear
  14. kid — to tease
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tear — to rip

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