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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — the month
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — music
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. field — farmland
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. fan — a supporter

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