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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fall — the season
  4. last — final
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — a series
  8. field — farmland
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — for sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — to go on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. drill — army training
  16. present — there
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. present — the time now
  21. last — finally
  22. drill — the tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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