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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — a law
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — rain
  17. mate — a partner
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mate — a friend
  20. row — a line
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rule — government
  24. mate — to breed

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