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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 water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rest — what's left
  4. press — to push
  5. pop — soda
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. board — to get on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — help
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — an illness
  21. press — newspapers
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. rest — a break

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