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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mate — to breed
  3. field — for sport
  4. spell — letters
  5. race — the arms race
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — the fish
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spell — magic
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. bass — low music
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — a short time
  21. race — humankind
  22. mate — a friend
  23. march — music
  24. race — a contest

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