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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 116 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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. squash — to crush
  3. row — a line
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. can — to be able to
  7. tear — from crying
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. row — to paddle
  19. root — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. root — of a word
  24. can — a tin

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