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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 116 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: wake · pitcher · ball · field · perch · file · cold · suit

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. field — a subject
  7. suit — in cards
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a great time
  11. perch — the fish
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. file — a tool
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. suit — clothes

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