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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. rash — hasty
  6. last — final
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. last — finally
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rash — a series
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. last — to go on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wound — an injury

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