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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. game — a match
  8. field — a subject
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. race — a contest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a music group
  17. race — humankind
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bore — to drill
  23. band — a ring
  24. bore — to tire

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