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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 · fan · lean · fall · mouse · saw · nail · last

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fall — to drop
  6. last — to go on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. last — final
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fall — the season
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. last — finally
  24. mouse — 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