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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. sharp — clever
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — to rob
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bound — certain
  17. ground — a position
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. swing — music
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ground — the earth

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