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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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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: key · bat · wound · pit · rule · perch · wake · field

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — for sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. field — farmland
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. perch — the fish
  10. field — a subject
  11. rule — a law
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — a trail
  18. key — in music
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — an injury
  24. key — the most important part

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