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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — the fish
  7. object — to protest
  8. clip — to cut
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. toast — bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. object — a thing
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. field — a subject
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fall — to drop
  22. object — an aim
  23. branch — a division
  24. toast — the most admired

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