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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. field — a subject
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — in music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wax — to grow
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chip — for betting
  14. field — farmland
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. chip — in a computer
  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