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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pit — a hole
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a line
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. key — in music
  10. drill — army training
  11. row — to paddle
  12. drill — a practice
  13. saw — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pit — in a race
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. drill — the tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. band — a ring

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