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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fall — the season
  3. field — farmland
  4. lie — to recline
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fall — to drop
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. fall — to drop
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. date — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. cell — in biology
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — to confront
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lie — an untruth

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