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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: toast · tube · wave · lie · patient · last · fan · bat

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. last — final
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — a container
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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