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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. land — to come down
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. field — a subject
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pop — to visit
  17. swing — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pop — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — a country

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