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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — to paddle
  5. firm — decided
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — a company
  10. bark — to shout
  11. firm — steady
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. row — a line

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