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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pop — to visit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pop — soda
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pop — music
  24. cell — a phone

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