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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cap — a hat
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — a signal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — a subject
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. field — farmland

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