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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. shower — rain
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — to cut
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. present — the time now
  23. clip — a video
  24. lash — an eyelash

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