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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. field — farmland
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spell — a short time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. field — for sport
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. branch — a division
  21. file — a line of people
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a tool
  24. chip — to eat

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