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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fine — all right
  7. march — music
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. march — the month
  11. board — to get on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — farmland
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. board — a committee
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. field — for sport
  23. pit — a hole
  24. perch — the fish

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