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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. roll — a list
  3. cue — a hint
  4. face — to point toward
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cue — a signal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — not warm
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. patient — a sick person

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