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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. march — the month
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. march — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — to tease
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. kid — child

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