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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rock — music
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. object — an aim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — in cards
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bear — the animal
  16. object — to protest
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hand — help
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. object — a thing
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cold — not warm

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