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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — for catching
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cell — a phone
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. spring — of water
  10. hand — in cards
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rule — a law
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — the season
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rule — government
  24. hand — help

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