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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. lean — to bend
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. degree — an amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. perch — the fish
  24. degree — temperature

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