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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 120 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bore — to tire
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. fall — the season
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — in biology
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. court — of a king
  19. bore — to drill
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — the underground

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