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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pound — a weight
  3. perch — the fish
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. file — a tool
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bound — obliged
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. march — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. track — to keep track
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. saw — the tool
  23. file — a document
  24. bound — certain

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