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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — help
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spring — of water
  6. march — music
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pit — in a race
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. hand — in cards
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — a position
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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