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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — after costs
  4. snap — to click
  5. lean — to bend
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — to drop
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. lean — thin
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. net — for catching
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cue — for pool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. shower — rain
  22. fall — the season
  23. net — in sport
  24. deal — an agreement

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