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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a music group
  6. spell — a short time
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. foot — a measure
  11. shower — to wash
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a ring
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pit — in a race
  22. spell — letters
  23. field — a subject
  24. saw — the tool

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