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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bear — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — temperature
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — a video
  9. track — a path
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bear — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — an amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. track — a song
  18. row — a line
  19. track — to keep track
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — to drill
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bore — to tire
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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