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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: board · hide · pitcher · field · fall · track · capital · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — for sport
  4. track — a song
  5. capital — money
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — to keep track
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. board — to get on
  16. field — farmland
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. capital — a city
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. board — a committee
  23. track — a path
  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