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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. hide — animal skin
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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