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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. object — to protest
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — the animal
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rest — a break
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fine — all right
  15. snap — to click
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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