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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. My father caught me by 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. perch — for a bird
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mate — to breed
  10. field — farmland
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mate — a partner
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. field — for sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. field — a subject
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mate — a friend
  24. arm — part of the body

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