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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. land — ground
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — to come down
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wake — a trail
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — a country
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — a measure
  24. march — 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