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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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. arm — a part of something
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — the tool
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bat — the animal
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. field — for sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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