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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 120 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: game · march · perch · fork · spell · racket · field · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. spell — a short time
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — letters
  6. cap — of ice
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — farmland
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — a match
  18. cap — a lid
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — magic
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — wild animals

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