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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: spring · field · mug · perch · game · rash · land · bound

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mug — a cup
  4. perch — the fish
  5. field — a subject
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bound — tied together
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — the season
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bound — certain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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