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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.

Make a worksheet

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: leaves · wound · clip · spring · perch · club · patient · field

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — a subject
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. club — a group
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spring — of water
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — farmland
  22. club — for golf
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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