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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fork — in a road
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ground — a position
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. rash — a series

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