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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: cold · bark · patient · bore · perch · hand · hide · lie

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. perch — the fish
  15. lie — to recline
  16. hand — help
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — not warm

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