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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: ground · rule · mate · safe · content · patient · perch · cold

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ground — a position
  5. mate — a friend
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. perch — the fish
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rule — government
  12. content — the amount
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. rule — a law
  17. mate — a partner
  18. content — happy
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. mate — to breed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — for a bird

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