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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. saw — the tool
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — rain
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — for catching
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — in sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — in a race
  22. net — after costs
  23. saw — the tool
  24. prune — to trim

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