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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — ground
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — a country
  9. pound — a weight
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. clip — a video
  16. land — to come down
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mate — to breed
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — the season
  24. swing — music

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