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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spring — of water
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — to drop
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — all right
  11. spring — the season
  12. fine — high quality
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mine — for digging
  15. snap — to click
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fall — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fall — to drop

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