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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — to drop
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fall — to drop
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — a path
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hand — help
  14. track — a song
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — the season
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — to wash
  23. perch — the fish
  24. track — to keep track

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