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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 116 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — to come from
  15. net — after costs
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — in sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — for baseball
  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