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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a line
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wake — a trail
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. club — for golf
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. field — farmland

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