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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. chair — a leader
  5. field — a subject
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — of a plant
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. root — the cause
  14. bore — to drill
  15. root — of a word
  16. field — for sport
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bore — to tire
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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