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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. field — farmland
  4. race — a contest
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mark — a trace
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. race — the arms race
  13. shower — rain
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. race — humankind
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pit — a hole

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