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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — for digging
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. shower — rain
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. craft — boats

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