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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — to play on
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spring — a coil
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — of water
  21. snap — to click
  22. perch — the fish
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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