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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. rule — government
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — a law
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. row — to paddle
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lean — to bend
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lean — thin

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