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

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — the season
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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