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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: field · pit · sharp · wound · mine · race · perch · fall

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pit — a hole
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — a subject
  11. fall — the season
  12. pit — in a race
  13. race — the arms race
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. race — humankind
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — a contest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. field — for sport
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fall — to drop
  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