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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. present — a gift
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — hurry
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. present — there
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. present — the time now
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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