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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — a subject
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — the fish
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lie — to recline
  21. snap — to click
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lie — an untruth

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