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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bark — to shout
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. key — in music
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. key — for a lock
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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