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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — the season
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — of water
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. squash — to crush
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — child

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