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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: mate · kid · bat · perch · stick · prune · patient · toast

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bat — the animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mate — a partner
  20. toast — bread
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. patient — a sick person

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