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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — hurry
  10. chest — a box
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. march — music
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — a container
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — a skill
  23. tube — the underground
  24. march — the month

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