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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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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: perch · file · court · cap · mug · patient · mate · clip

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mate — to breed
  3. court — for sport
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — of a king
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a document
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cap — a hat
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mate — a friend
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. court — of law

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