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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. 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. rash — a series
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — hasty
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. lie — to recline
  14. prune — to trim
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. 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