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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 124 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. march — the month
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. march — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. game — a match
  11. object — to protest
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — happy
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. perch — the fish
  17. object — a thing
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. march — the month
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — wild animals

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