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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bound — obliged
  4. land — to come down
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — an illness
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. swing — music
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bound — certain
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — a country
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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