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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. vault — a safe
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fall — the season
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. dip — to sink
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — an illness
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — what's left

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