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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. shower — rain
  4. saw — the tool
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. dip — to sink
  7. roll — a list
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — to wash
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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