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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. drill — army training
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rash — a series
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. drill — the tool
  24. craft — a skill

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