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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: cold · snap · patient · board · mark · perch · last · wound

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — not warm
  7. snap — to click
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mark — a grade
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. board — to get on
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. last — finally
  17. mark — a trace
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. last — to go on

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