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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. staff — employees
  3. field — farmland
  4. perch — the fish
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. kid — child
  8. staff — employees
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. key — for a lock
  11. staff — a stick
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. kid — to tease
  15. firm — steady
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — for sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. firm — a company
  20. field — a subject
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. firm — decided

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