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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — magic
  7. last — to go on
  8. spell — a short time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — final
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bat — the animal
  14. field — farmland
  15. spell — letters
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bank — for money
  21. pit — in a race
  22. last — finally
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — for a bird

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