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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. mug — a cup
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fine — all right
  8. mug — a face
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pit — in a race
  12. toast — bread
  13. spring — of water
  14. shower — rain
  15. mug — to rob
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — the season
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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