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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. row — a line
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cap — a lid
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitch — completely
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cap — of ice
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. perch — the fish
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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