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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — a line
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pass — a permit
  24. shower — rain

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