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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — farmland
  4. cue — a hint
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. perch — the fish
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — a subject
  18. clip — a video
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cold — an illness
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — not warm

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