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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pop — music
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. current — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. foot — a measure
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pop — to visit
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pop — soda
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to sink
  21. current — happening now
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. current — electric

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