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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. tube — a container
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — of the year
  7. fine — high quality
  8. perch — the fish
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — to cut
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — to come from
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fine — all right
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — for paper
  23. season — in sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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