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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. field — farmland
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — magic
  7. suit — clothes
  8. field — a subject
  9. suit — to fit
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. spell — a short time
  12. field — for sport
  13. scale — size or range
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. suit — in cards
  19. fall — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — in music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. scale — for weighing

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