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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: perch · wake · season · race · row · key · fall · field

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. row — a line
  6. field — for sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. season — in sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — to drop
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fall — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. key — for a lock
  16. race — a contest
  17. key — in music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. key — the most important part
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — to paddle
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — a subject

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