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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: cap · mouse · field · perch · board · land · sharp · last

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. perch — the fish
  3. last — to go on
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. board — a committee
  8. land — ground
  9. field — farmland
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — finally
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — a country
  17. last — final
  18. field — for sport
  19. sharp — clever
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — of ice
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mouse — for a computer

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