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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — the fish
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. march — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cue — a signal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cue — for pool
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — a hint
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. arm — part of the body

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