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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 120 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: snap · pitcher · perch · bat · lie · row · patient · root

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. snap — to click
  6. root — of a word
  7. row — a line
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. root — the cause
  14. perch — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. lie — to recline
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. row — to paddle
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bat — in an idiom

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