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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · key · perch · kick · spring · ground · bat

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — to go on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spring — a coil
  14. key — in music
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. last — finally
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. perch — the fish
  21. field — a subject
  22. spring — the season
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — of water

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