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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · chest · leaves · club · pit · patient · squash · lie

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lie — to recline
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. chest — a box
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. squash — to crush
  15. club — for golf
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. squash — the sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fall — the season
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fall — to drop

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