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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. perch — the fish
  5. present — a gift
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — to go on
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. present — the time now
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — to paddle
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. present — there
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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