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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: patient · tear · can · foot · spring · bat · season · perch

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — to rip
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. can — a tin
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — a coil
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. season — of the year
  18. can — to be able to
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — the animal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spring — the season

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