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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — of a king
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. kid — child
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. last — final
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — finally
  22. court — of law
  23. perch — the fish
  24. last — to go on

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