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

Word bank: mouse · race · perch · straw · snap · cold · fine · patient

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — humankind
  6. fine — all right
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — a contest
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fine — high quality
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. perch — the fish

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