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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cap — a lid
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — to go on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. field — farmland
  9. hand — help
  10. land — a country
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. last — finally
  15. hand — in cards
  16. perch — the fish
  17. field — a subject
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — ground
  23. stem — to come from
  24. last — final

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