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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · bat · pitcher · wake · fall · field · leaves · perch

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. field — farmland
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — a trail
  7. kick — in football
  8. bat — the animal
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fall — the season
  20. field — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — a subject
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kick — a thrill

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