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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 120 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — a short time
  3. current — of water
  4. fall — the season
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — to drop
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. field — farmland
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — magic

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