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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. object — to protest
  3. band — a ring
  4. object — an aim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. charge — in control
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to click
  19. object — a thing
  20. band — a music group
  21. charge — a price
  22. bat — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — to turn a key

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