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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: tear · board · perch · chest · bulb · hand · race · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — to get on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. perch — the fish
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chest — a box
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. race — a contest
  14. bulb — for light
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. board — a committee
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — humankind
  24. board — a flat piece

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