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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — for sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. prune — to trim
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. foot — a measure
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — to crush
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. field — farmland
  17. perch — the fish
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. land — ground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. squash — the sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. land — a country
  24. foot — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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