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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — the tool
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chair — to sit on

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