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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fork — in a road
  3. shower — rain
  4. rule — a law
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. perch — the fish
  10. last — final
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rule — government
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stem — to come from
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — of a plant

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