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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — ground
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. land — to come down
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — an illness

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