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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tear — to rip
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rock — a stone
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wax — to grow
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — a box
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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