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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.

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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — a coil
  24. safe — out of danger

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