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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. squash — to crush
  4. date — the fruit
  5. field — a subject
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spell — magic
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bore — to tire
  14. field — farmland
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. spell — letters
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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