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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — the animal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. perch — the fish
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bulb — for light
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. patient — a sick person

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