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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.

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: game · season · cap · straw · bat · club · perch · patient

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. season — of the year
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. perch — the fish
  7. game — a match
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. season — in sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — for golf
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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