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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — to play on
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. band — a music group
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. board — to get on
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. swing — in golf
  20. board — a committee
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a ring
  24. perch — for a bird

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