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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. field — farmland
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. field — a subject
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. sharp — clever
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. shower — rain

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