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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. present — there
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitch — completely
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — tied together
  11. present — the time now
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. shower — rain
  21. present — a gift
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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