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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: chest · plane · fine · lie · root · fall · row · patient

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fine — high quality
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — to recline
  17. fall — to drop
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — a line

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