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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — for sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. saw — the tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. ground — a position
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cell — in biology
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — farmland
  22. saw — the tool
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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