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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. march — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. current — electric
  7. root — of a plant
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — of a word
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fall — to drop
  12. current — of water
  13. staff — a stick
  14. current — happening now
  15. tear — to rip
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — the season
  18. root — the cause
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — from crying
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — employees
  24. lash — to lash out

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