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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — a gift
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — for paper
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — to cut
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rest — what's left

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