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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. march — the month
  4. craft — boats
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — a trail
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mine — for digging
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. march — music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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