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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fork — in a road
  6. swing — music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spell — magic
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. kid — child
  13. cold — an illness
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — to play on
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. spell — letters
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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