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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lean — thin
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — in cards
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hand — part of the body

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