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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rock — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cap — of ice
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. cap — a hat

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