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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. season — of the year
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rush — hurry
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. vault — a safe
  20. shower — rain
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — in sport
  24. perch — the fish

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