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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bass — low music
  3. lie — to recline
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — child
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — to rob
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bass — the fish
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — to paddle
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lie — an untruth

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