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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fall — the season
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spell — letters
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spell — magic
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — the earth
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. roll — a cake
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ground — a position
  24. rock — music

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