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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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Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spell — letters
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. field — for sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. field — a subject
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cap — a lid
  11. key — the most important part
  12. capital — a city
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. field — farmland
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. game — a match
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spell — magic
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rush — hurry
  24. key — in music

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