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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. present — there
  3. bass — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — a subject
  7. present — the time now
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bass — low music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. present — a gift
  24. bass — the instrument

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