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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — with your hand

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