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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. object — to protest
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fall — the season
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. scale — in music
  11. rush — hurry
  12. object — an aim
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. object — a thing
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — to paddle
  19. scale — size or range
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — to drop
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. straw — dry grass

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