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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. dip — to sink
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. ball — a great time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — a tool
  24. ball — a round shape

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