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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — to trim
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. race — a contest
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — humankind
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. prune — to trim
  18. shower — to wash
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. game — wild animals
  21. perch — the fish
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — rain
  24. spring — a coil

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