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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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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: bay · bat · bear · clip · perch · key · field · face

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. face — to confront
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. field — a subject
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bear — the animal
  13. key — in music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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