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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. snap — to click
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. court — for sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — the fish
  20. season — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. coach — a trainer

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