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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — a video
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. bear — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — to cut
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kick — in football
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. patient — a sick person

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