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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. file — a line of people
  4. field — farmland
  5. file — a tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. squash — the sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. court — of law
  11. field — for sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a document
  14. squash — to crush
  15. field — a subject
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. perch — the fish

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