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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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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: cell · field · fall · date · perch · kick · mouse · bat

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. date — the fruit
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kick — in football
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fall — the season
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. field — for sport

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