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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. drill — a practice
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — to breed
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. march — music
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — finally
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. last — final
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. last — to go on
  20. drill — army training
  21. mate — a partner
  22. drill — the tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  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