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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: hide · cold · patient · wax · rule · saw · kick · shower

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kick — in football
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rule — government
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — to grow
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cold — not warm
  21. shower — to wash
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rule — to rule out

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