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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kid — child
  4. drill — army training
  5. bass — low music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bass — the fish
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — to tease
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pound — to hit hard

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