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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — a song
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. chair — a leader
  7. season — in sport
  8. field — for sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. season — of the year
  11. present — a gift
  12. field — farmland
  13. present — the time now
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. track — a path
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cue — a hint
  20. present — there
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cue — for pool

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