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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. perch — the fish
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. firm — a company
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — an illness
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. file — a tool
  19. firm — decided
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stand — to bear
  22. file — a line of people
  23. firm — steady
  24. cold — the Cold War

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