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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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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chip — to eat
  4. spell — letters
  5. rest — what's left
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. foot — a measure
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rest — a break
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — for sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spell — magic
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — a series
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. foot — the bottom

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