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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. 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. present — a gift
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fall — to drop
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. fall — to drop
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — there
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. firm — a company
  12. present — the time now
  13. firm — steady
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — decided
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. 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