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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bat — the animal
  8. band — a music group
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a ring
  18. march — music
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — the fish

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