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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. field — a subject
  4. lean — to bend
  5. swing — in golf
  6. perch — the fish
  7. field — for sport
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. swing — music
  11. lean — thin
  12. pass — a permit
  13. swing — to play on
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. foot — a measure
  23. file — a tool
  24. wind — moving air

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