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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: cold · kick · spring · cap · patient · perch · suit · foot

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. suit — clothes
  3. cap — of ice
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — an illness
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cap — a hat
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cap — a lid
  13. suit — to fit
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spring — of water
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — a coil
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spring — the season
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. suit — in cards
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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