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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. field — a subject
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tube — the underground
  12. present — a gift
  13. cap — a lid
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. ground — a position
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — for sport
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. kid — child

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