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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.

Make a worksheet

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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. perch — the fish
  6. key — the most important part
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — for a lock
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. fall — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chair — a leader
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — there
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mine — an explosive

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