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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. field — for sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fall — the season
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. perch — for a bird

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