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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fall — the season
  6. last — to go on
  7. branch — a division
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — farmland
  10. pit — a hole
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. swing — to play on
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. last — finally
  16. swing — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. last — final
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — in golf

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