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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 116 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — government
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — farmland
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. firm — steady
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — a law
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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