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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. net — in sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. shower — rain
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — to paddle
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ball — a dance
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. net — for catching
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. patient — a sick person

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