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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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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: pound · lie · cold · deal · patient · perch · craft · scale

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lie — to recline
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pound — a weight
  15. craft — a skill
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. scale — in music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. craft — a handicraft

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