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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 120 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mark — a grade
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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