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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. 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. patient — a sick person
  2. content — the amount
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. row — to paddle
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. content — happy
  18. chest — of your body
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. perch — the fish
  22. row — a line
  23. board — a committee
  24. 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