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

Word bank: content · patient · bat · bay · present · hide · tear · wave

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. content — happy
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — the time now
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. present — a gift
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — there
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — from crying

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