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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. land — ground
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bat — the animal
  5. present — a gift
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. spell — a short time
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mug — a face
  12. land — a country
  13. present — the time now
  14. spell — magic
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — to come down
  18. present — there
  19. spell — letters
  20. mug — a cup
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. patient — a sick person
  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