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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. plane — a tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. field — farmland
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — a subject
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — a practice

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