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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 120 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cap — of ice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. tube — the underground
  20. spell — magic
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kick — in football
  24. tube — a container

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