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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — moving air
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. last — to go on
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — finally
  12. rock — music
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — final
  23. can — a tin
  24. rock — a stone

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