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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. row — a line
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — thin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. spell — a short time
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mine — an explosive

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