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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bear — the animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rule — government
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rule — a law
  16. row — a line
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. patient — a sick person

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