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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 116 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. perch — the fish
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. deal — to handle
  11. field — farmland
  12. rush — hurry
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — a subject
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. field — for sport
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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