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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. object — a thing
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — to visit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cell — in biology
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. object — an aim
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — a phone
  20. land — a country
  21. object — to protest
  22. pop — soda
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lie — an untruth

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