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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bound — certain
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tube — a container
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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