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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fork — in a road
  9. root — of a plant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. perch — the fish
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spring — the season
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. degree — from a university
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. root — of a word
  24. spring — of water

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