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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — a subject
  3. chest — a box
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — of your body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. season — in sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. season — of the year
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bass — low music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chest — of your body

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