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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spell — magic
  4. lean — to bend
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. field — a subject
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pitch — completely
  17. lean — thin
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spell — letters
  24. face — to confront

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