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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — for sport
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bore — to drill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. bore — to tire
  12. season — of the year
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wound — an injury

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