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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: patient · bat · calf · sharp · track · wind · stick · perch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. track — a path
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. track — to keep track
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. sharp — clever
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. track — a song
  24. perch — for a bird

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