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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. ground — the earth
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. row — a line
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — a position
  11. season — of the year
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — in sport
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fall — the season
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — a quarrel

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