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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fork — in a road
  8. rule — government
  9. bass — low music
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rule — a law
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — ground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to drill
  24. land — a country

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