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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pop — music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pop — to visit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — soda
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. perch — the fish
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — completely
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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