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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. foot — a measure
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. can — to be able to
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bore — to tire
  14. last — finally
  15. field — farmland
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. last — final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bore — to drill
  21. field — for sport
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. can — a tin
  24. last — to go on

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