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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. field — a subject
  7. object — to protest
  8. field — farmland
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. object — an aim
  12. field — for sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. roll — a list
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. object — a thing
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — wild animals

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