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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 116 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bass — low music
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — magic
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rock — music
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fall — the season
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rock — a stone
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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