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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. perch — the fish
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — moving air
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird

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