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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 120 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: cold · lash · foot · mug · press · safe · fork · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mug — to rob
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. foot — a measure
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. mug — a cup
  19. press — newspapers
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. press — a publisher
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fork — in a road

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