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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
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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: clip · jam · field · perch · staff · trunk · straw · patient

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. perch — the fish
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. staff — a stick
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. clip — for paper
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. field — for sport
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — a video

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