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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cap — a lid
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. march — the month
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cap — a hat
  13. current — happening now
  14. cap — of ice
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. march — music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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