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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. field — for sport
  3. drill — army training
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — of water
  7. bank — of a river
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. perch — the fish
  13. charge — a price
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. charge — in control
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. charge — electricity
  24. spring — the season

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