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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fall — the season
  7. cell — in biology
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fall — to drop
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cell — a phone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — the animal
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — army training
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fall — to drop

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