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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. firm — a company
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. firm — decided
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — not warm
  12. capital — a city
  13. firm — steady
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bass — low music
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bass — the fish
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — money
  24. staff — employees

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