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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. lean — thin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bat — the animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to bend
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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