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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: field · arm · bat · last · object · perch · board · spell

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. last — final
  3. field — for sport
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. board — a committee
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. object — to protest
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. last — finally
  12. perch — the fish
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. board — to get on
  16. spell — magic
  17. last — to go on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spell — letters
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. object — a thing

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