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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kid — child
  5. mug — a face
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. kid — to tease
  11. snap — to click
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mug — a cup
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cap — a hat
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. patient — a sick person

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