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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. lean — thin
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. mug — to rob
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. file — a tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. file — a document
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — a face

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