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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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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: field · perch · straw · board · bore · face · net · bat

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. board — to get on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bore — to drill
  12. face — part of the head
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — for sport
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — for catching
  19. perch — the fish
  20. face — to confront
  21. board — a committee
  22. field — farmland
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. field — a subject

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