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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 116 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: bat · calf · patient · fall · last · land · lie · cap

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. last — final
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lie — to recline
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. land — to come down
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — ground
  14. cap — a hat
  15. last — finally
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — the season
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bat — the animal

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