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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. field — farmland
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. field — for sport
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. perch — the fish
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — magic
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. spell — a short time
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. field — a subject
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stand — to bear
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spell — letters
  24. perch — for a bird

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