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

Word bank: pound · drill · last · cue · patient · perch · racket · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cue — a signal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — final
  6. cue — for pool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. drill — the tool
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — a hint
  12. perch — the fish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. last — finally
  18. swing — music
  19. drill — army training
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. swing — in golf
  23. last — to go on
  24. pound — to hit hard

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