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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spell — magic
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — to shout
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wake — a trail
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. row — a line
  24. foot — a measure

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