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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cue — a signal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. toast — bread
  22. bark — to shout
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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