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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. hand — help
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — of ice
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ball — a great time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — in sport
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — for catching
  18. ball — a dance
  19. net — after costs
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ball — a round shape

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