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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fall — to drop
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — the season
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. content — happy
  24. straw — dry grass

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