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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. suit — in cards
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. suit — clothes
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bound — obliged
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bound — certain
  16. degree — from a university
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. suit — to fit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — an injury
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — an amount

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