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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: game · fork · perch · march · wax · mate · rash · field

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — a subject
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rash — a series
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. march — music
  14. field — for sport
  15. game — a match
  16. mate — a friend
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rash — hasty
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fork — in a road
  22. field — farmland
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — a partner

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