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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitch — completely
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. branch — a division
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. shower — to wash
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rest — a break
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — rain

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