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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. land — ground
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — thin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. land — a country
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rest — a break
  20. land — to come down
  21. stand — to bear
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — a phone
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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