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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — a line
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. vault — a safe
  23. dip — to sink
  24. row — to paddle

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