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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 116 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cue — for pool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. object — an aim
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — a subject
  11. cue — a hint
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fall — the season
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. object — to protest
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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