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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. game — a match
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — wild animals
  10. present — a gift
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. toast — bread
  17. press — to push
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — the fruit
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. press — newspapers
  24. present — the time now

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