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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — an illness
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. branch — a division
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ground — the earth
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fine — all right
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ground — a position
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ground — crushed
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fine — a penalty

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