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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · perch · bat · patient · cue · field · clip · face

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cue — a signal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — for sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — farmland
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. face — to point toward
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — the animal
  20. face — part of the head
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. face — to confront

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