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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 120 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — for golf
  5. track — a song
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. club — for dancing
  8. track — a path
  9. fine — all right
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — the season
  12. kid — to tease
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — a phone
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. club — a group
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. kid — child
  19. fine — high quality
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — to wash
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — to drop

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