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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. swing — in golf
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — to rip
  5. saw — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — to go on
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — to rob
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mug — a face

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