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

Word bank: perch · hand · file · ground · wave · cell · patient · rest

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — a position
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — the earth
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — help
  22. file — a tool
  23. rest — a break
  24. ground — crushed

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