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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. prune — to trim
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. perch — for a bird

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