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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — final
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. object — to protest
  11. shower — rain
  12. spring — the season
  13. object — a thing
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. fall — the season
  17. last — finally
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. object — an aim
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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