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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · perch · arm · key · pitcher · content · jam · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. key — for a lock
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. key — in music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. arm — a part of something

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