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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — rain
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. net — after costs
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bass — the fish
  12. swing — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bass — low music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. perch — the fish
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. arm — a part of something
  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