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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pit — in a race
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mug — a face
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rash — a series

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