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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. staff — employees
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ground — a position
  11. field — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. staff — employees
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ground — the earth
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — a subject
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — farmland

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