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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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. firm — steady
  4. club — a group
  5. field — a subject
  6. file — a document
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cap — of ice
  11. net — after costs
  12. club — for golf
  13. cap — a hat
  14. firm — decided
  15. club — for dancing
  16. net — for catching
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. perch — the fish
  19. firm — a company
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a tool

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