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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — a practice
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a partner
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fall — to drop
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — the season
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — army training
  22. mate — a friend
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. patient — a sick person

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