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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 120 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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rest — a break
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — a lid
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. tear — to rip
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pass — a permit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cap — of ice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cap — a hat
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. patient — a sick person

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