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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. last — finally
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — a subject
  4. cue — for pool
  5. charge — in control
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — a trail
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. cue — a hint
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. charge — a price
  16. last — final
  17. field — for sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — to go on
  20. foot — a measure
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. perch — for a bird
  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