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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: perch · ground · bore · saw · patient · clip · shower · prune

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ground — the earth
  18. shower — rain
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bore — to tire
  23. ground — a position
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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