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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. object — to protest
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rash — hasty
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. object — a thing
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. object — an aim
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. perch — the fish
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. rash — a series

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