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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: bay · field · saw · perch · present · chest · track · row

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — of your body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — farmland
  8. track — a song
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. track — a path
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. present — a gift
  15. field — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. row — to paddle
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. present — there
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. saw — the 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