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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 116 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. charge — in control
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — a subject
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — a match
  23. charge — a price
  24. bass — 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