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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — to breed
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bear — the animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. game — a match
  20. pop — soda
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mate — a partner

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