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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: cold · perch · leaves · field · pop · race · rest · foot

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. race — a contest
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — a subject
  15. pop — to visit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. foot — a measure
  20. race — humankind
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. field — farmland

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