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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — to breed
  4. foot — a measure
  5. mate — a friend
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. perch — the fish
  12. swing — music
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — of law
  18. net — in sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. field — a subject
  24. face — part of the head

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