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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. date — the fruit
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. kick — in football
  7. swing — music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — farmland
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. last — finally
  13. land — to come down
  14. swing — in golf
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. last — to go on
  17. field — for sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. last — final
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. swing — to play on
  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