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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. club — for dancing
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — a group
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pass — a permit

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