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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. perch — the fish
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a ring
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — help
  18. perch — for a bird

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