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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kick — in football
  5. field — farmland
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — a container
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — a subject
  16. rest — a break
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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