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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 120 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: cabinet · key · perch · patient · saw · bark · wake · cold

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. key — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — an illness
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — the Cold War

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