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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — the season
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. roll — a list
  7. land — ground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. net — for catching
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — the sport
  16. roll — a cake
  17. date — the fruit
  18. mine — for digging
  19. squash — to crush
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. land — a country
  24. patient — a sick person

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