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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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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: saw · clip · shower · pit · field · bulb · rash · perch

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — a series
  8. bulb — for light
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pit — a hole
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bulb — for light
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — to cut
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rash — hasty
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. pit — in a race
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — rain

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