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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — to confront
  4. fall — the season
  5. ground — the earth
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fall — to drop
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ground — a position

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