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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 · race · safe · mine · lean · fan · patient · perch

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — thin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — the fish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — to rip
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — humankind
  24. perch — for a bird

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