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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spell — letters
  3. field — farmland
  4. can — to be able to
  5. deal — to handle
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — for sport
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bound — certain
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cell — a phone
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. spell — magic
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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