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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — to go on
  5. field — a subject
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. file — a document
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — a friend
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — finally
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mate — a partner
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mate — to breed
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — final

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