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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mug — a cup
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. net — for catching
  7. bulb — for light
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mug — a face
  20. mine — for digging
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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