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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — of law
  5. mug — a cup
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. mug — to rob
  14. capital — a city
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. capital — money
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mug — a face
  20. court — of a king
  21. track — a song
  22. court — for sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. temple — side of the head

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