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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: present · drill · patient · bay · dip · lie · bat · tear

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. dip — to sink
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — to rip
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. tear — from crying
  16. drill — army training
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. present — there
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lie — to recline
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. present — the time now

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