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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.

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: perch · bear · game · file · capital · coach · field · bound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — a match
  8. field — for sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — a city
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — money
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — farmland
  20. perch — the fish
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a line of people
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bound — tied together

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