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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. current — of water
  5. perch — the fish
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — for sport
  8. current — electric
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — happening now
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — farmland
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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