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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — a subject
  17. kick — in football
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. stem — to come from
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. field — farmland
  23. perch — the fish
  24. kick — with a leg

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