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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. dip — to sink
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rule — a law
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rule — government
  18. last — to go on
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ground — a position

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