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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: patient · rash · bore · race · bat · spring · perch · scale

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bore — to drill
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rash — a series
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bore — to tire
  15. scale — in music
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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