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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: pop · kid · patient · bass · rest · lie · bear · fall

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — low music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pop — soda
  12. rest — what's left
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rest — what's left
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pop — music

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