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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 120 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: perch · bear · pop · field · mine · foot · spring · last

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — to visit
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pop — soda
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pop — music
  14. perch — the fish
  15. foot — a measure
  16. field — for sport
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — finally
  19. spring — the season
  20. last — final
  21. field — farmland
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. perch — for a bird

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