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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. field — for sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. rush — hurry
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tear — from crying
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stand — to bear
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — a division
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. perch — the fish

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