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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. board — a committee
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — to go on
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tube — the underground
  12. last — finally
  13. field — farmland
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — final
  21. field — for sport
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — a subject

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