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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rush — hurry
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. lie — to recline
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a path
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a song
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — in biology
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rush — to hurry

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