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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. fork — in a road
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitch — completely
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lie — an untruth

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