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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. content — happy
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. plane — a tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. content — the amount
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stand — to bear
  21. mine — for digging
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — videos and posts

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