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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. present — a gift
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cell — a phone
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. perch — the fish
  10. present — there
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cell — in biology
  13. roll — a list
  14. present — the time now
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. field — a subject
  20. roll — a cake
  21. last — to go on
  22. field — for sport
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. field — farmland

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