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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. ground — crushed
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. snap — to click
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ground — the earth
  18. perch — the fish
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. ground — a position
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. patient — a sick person

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