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

Word bank: date · field · kid · root · perch · foot · rule · last

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. date — the fruit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rule — a law
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. foot — a measure
  10. perch — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. kid — child
  13. last — to go on
  14. root — the cause
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. root — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. field — a subject
  19. root — of a word
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — final
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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