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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — the time now
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stock — shares
  8. present — there
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. perch — the fish
  13. game — wild animals
  14. present — a gift
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — rain
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — for baseball

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