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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. march — the month
  3. current — electric
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — happening now
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. march — music
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. current — of water
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lie — to recline
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. pound — a weight
  21. march — the month
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. spring — the season
  24. fork — to eat with

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