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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stand — to bear
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rule — government
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. face — to confront
  10. kid — to tease
  11. face — part of the head
  12. kid — child
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. rule — a law
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a dance

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