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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. present — there
  3. spring — a coil
  4. present — the time now
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. land — ground
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. present — a gift
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — a country
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. perch — the fish
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spring — of water

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