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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. key — in music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. field — for sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mate — a friend
  14. key — the most important part
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. key — for a lock
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — the animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — the fish

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