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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. snap — to click
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rule — government
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — a law
  13. scale — in music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — help
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lie — an untruth

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