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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — to rip
  4. present — there
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. game — a match
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. club — for dancing
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. club — a group
  12. roll — a cake
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. perch — the fish
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — wild animals
  18. field — farmland
  19. club — for golf
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. present — a gift
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. tear — from crying

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