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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. perch — the fish
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. can — a tin
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. can — a tin
  9. tube — a container
  10. can — to be able to
  11. sharp — clever
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. date — the fruit
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. patient — a sick person

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