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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — in sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — the fish
  11. plane — a tool
  12. root — of a word
  13. field — farmland
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — for catching
  18. root — of a plant
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — a subject
  21. root — the cause
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hide — animal skin

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