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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lean — to bend
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cold — not warm
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — to wash
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bear — to put up with

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