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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · cue · perch · field · cell · wind

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. perch — the fish
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. field — farmland
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — a subject
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — a hint
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cell — a phone

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