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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a ring
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. band — a music group
  9. field — for sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fork — in a road
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. ball — a dance

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