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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'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. tube — the underground
  4. last — final
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. last — to go on
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. last — finally
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cue — a hint
  16. mine — for digging
  17. season — of the year
  18. foot — a measure
  19. perch — the fish
  20. season — in sport
  21. cue — for pool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cue — a signal
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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