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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mug — a cup
  3. field — for sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — the season
  6. game — a match
  7. mug — to rob
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — hasty
  11. field — farmland
  12. spring — of water
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mug — a face
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — a series

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