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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.

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: bore · perch · present · clip · game · cue · leaves · field

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — for paper
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — farmland
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. game — a match
  11. bore — to drill
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — a signal
  14. present — there
  15. clip — to cut
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. present — a gift
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — a video
  21. present — the time now
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. perch — the fish

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