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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 116 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. swing — to play on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. row — a line
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pit — a hole
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mine — for digging
  19. swing — music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bulb — for light

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