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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. perch — the fish
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. current — of water
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spell — a short time
  11. current — electric
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. current — happening now
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fork — a garden tool

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