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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mug — a face
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. degree — from a university
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rest — what's left
  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