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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. rock — music
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mark — a trace
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — a box
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — a line
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  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