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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 116 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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. band — a music group
  3. perch — the fish
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — for digging
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. net — for catching
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — help
  14. net — after costs
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. season — of the year
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. band — a ring
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. net — in sport

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