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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — a line
  7. last — to go on
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. last — final
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cell — in biology
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. last — finally

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