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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. season — of the year
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. season — in sport
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pop — to visit
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — farmland
  13. pop — soda
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. fall — the season

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