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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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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: rock · track · chest · perch · land · fine · charge · patient

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. track — to keep track
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. charge — electricity
  11. chest — a box
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — ground
  16. rock — a stone
  17. track — a path
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — a price
  21. land — a country
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — the fish
  24. land — to come down

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