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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — hurry
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mug — to rob
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mug — a cup
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mug — a face

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