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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: plane · fan · perch · field · rash · pitcher · race · club

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. field — for sport
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rash — a series
  10. club — a group
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — a subject
  16. club — for golf
  17. race — the arms race
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. race — a contest
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — farmland
  24. plane — a tool

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