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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: last · field · content · bass · perch · wound · pitcher · rule

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bass — the fish
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — a law
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — the amount
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. perch — the fish
  19. last — final
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. bass — low music
  24. wound — an injury

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