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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. land — ground
  9. rule — a law
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rule — government
  24. tear — to rip

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