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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fall — to drop
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. sharp — clever
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — rain
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fall — to drop
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fall — the season

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