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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — a subject
  4. perch — the fish
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. club — for dancing
  8. swing — in golf
  9. field — for sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. club — a group
  16. object — to protest
  17. spring — a coil
  18. object — an aim
  19. spring — of water
  20. club — for golf
  21. field — farmland
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — music
  24. object — a thing

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