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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — ground
  10. lie — to recline
  11. land — a country
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bark — to shout
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stand — to bear
  24. drill — army training

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