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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. race — humankind
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. scale — size or range
  10. content — happy
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — the fish
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. swing — music
  15. fork — in a road
  16. race — the arms race
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — in golf
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. scale — in music

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