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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fall — the season
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pit — in a race
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — a phone
  12. swing — music
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cell — in biology
  23. drill — army training
  24. pit — a hole

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