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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — rain
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spell — letters
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stem — to come from
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fall — the season
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spell — a short time
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spell — magic
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — a trail
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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