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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 120 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: mouse · patient · lie · fan · cell · prune · tear · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. dip — to sink
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lie — to recline
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in biology
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — a phone

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