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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 water is too ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — the fish
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. root — of a plant

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