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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. lie — to recline
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bulb — for light
  7. track — to keep track
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bat — the animal
  11. track — a path
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bound — certain
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fall — the season

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