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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pit — in a race

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