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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. firm — decided
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cap — a hat
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cap — a lid
  14. firm — a company
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. firm — steady
  17. march — music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — hurry
  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