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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: patient · bay · craft · ground · fall · hand · cabinet · chest

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. craft — a skill
  3. ground — crushed
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. craft — boats
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chest — of your body

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