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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — farmland
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rule — government
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. field — for sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — a subject
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fall — the season

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