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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — to go on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. perch — the fish
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. current — electric
  21. cold — not warm
  22. shower — rain
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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