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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — an illness
  17. land — to come down
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. rock — a stone

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