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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — a break
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rock — music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rock — a stone

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