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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. last — final
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. last — finally
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bat — the animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spell — letters
  12. march — the month
  13. last — to go on
  14. march — the month
  15. spell — magic
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — a short time
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rush — hurry
  21. march — music
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — for baseball
  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