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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · bulb · patient · last · hide · wound · ground · pop

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ground — crushed
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pop — music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — soda
  14. last — final
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ground — a position
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wound — an injury

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