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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bear — the animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — to drop
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. row — a line
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — the season
  23. fall — the season
  24. row — to paddle

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