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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mug — a face
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. hand — help
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. saw — the tool

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