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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — magic
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — letters
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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