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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pit — in a race
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. land — ground
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. land — a country
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. land — to come down
  21. rest — what's left
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. roll — a list
  24. patient — a sick person

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