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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 116 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — music
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tube — a container
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. march — the month
  12. rest — a break
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rest — what's left

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