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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 116 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: cell · straw · patient · fall · prune · pass · perch · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. perch — the fish
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — to confront
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cell — in biology
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — a sick person

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