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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: hand · patient · stem · perch · net · straw · snap · mark

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mark — a grade
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — in sport
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. net — after costs
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — help
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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