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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. tube — a container
  5. face — part of the head
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. face — to confront
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. face — to point toward
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. tube — the underground
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bat — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — a video
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bat — for baseball

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