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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. branch — a division
  7. bulb — for light
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. can — to be able to
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bulb — for light
  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