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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — to wash
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. row — a line
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cabinet — ministers

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