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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. suit — to fit
  7. firm — a company
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. firm — decided
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — from crying
  16. snap — to click
  17. suit — in cards
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. firm — steady

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