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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — a subject
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bore — to drill
  17. perch — the fish
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cell — a phone
  23. court — of law
  24. bore — gave birth

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