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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bark — to shout
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — of water
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to bend
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — a coil
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lie — an untruth

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