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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. land — ground
  3. fall — to drop
  4. firm — decided
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rest — what's left
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — the season
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — to come down
  16. cold — not warm
  17. firm — a company
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — a country
  23. firm — steady
  24. cold — an illness

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