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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fork — in a road
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. perch — the fish

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