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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stem — to come from
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — the season
  10. club — a group
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. press — a publisher
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wound — an injury
  16. perch — the fish
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — for golf

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