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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — to drop
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. spell — a short time
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — magic
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — army training
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tear — to rip
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bass — the fish
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bass — low music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mug — a face

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