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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bat — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fall — the season
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — temperature
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — an amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pass — to spend time

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