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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fall — to drop
  3. perch — the fish
  4. field — for sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. face — to confront
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fall — the season
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — farmland
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. track — a song
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wound — an injury

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