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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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Word bank
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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 · bound · bat · last · patient · craft · rash · cell

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I seem to be developing 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. craft — a handicraft
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bound — certain
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bound — obliged
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cell — a phone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — boats
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — on the skin
  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