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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — a hint
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — a match
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. sharp — clever

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