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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. face — to point toward
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. face — to confront
  6. wake — a trail
  7. face — part of the head
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. key — in music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — letters
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — help
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — for a bird

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