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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in biology
  8. shower — rain
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — for sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — of a king
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wave — with your hand

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