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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — size or range
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. scale — in music
  9. stand — to bear
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. hand — help
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — to rip
  22. track — a song
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. scale — for weighing

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