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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. season — of the year
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — magic
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. spell — a short time
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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