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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fall — to drop
  6. present — there
  7. last — to go on
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lean — thin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. last — finally
  14. present — a gift
  15. lean — to bend
  16. present — the time now
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. date — the fruit
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — final

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