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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 water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spell — magic
  11. sharp — clever
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. board — a committee
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — to drop

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