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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — to confront
  4. fall — the season
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — a group
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — size or range
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for dancing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — in music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. fall — to drop

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