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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: present · cue · perch · wake · row · bat · mate · field

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — the animal
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wake — a trail
  10. field — a subject
  11. present — a gift
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mate — to breed
  15. row — a line
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — a partner
  18. present — there
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. mate — a friend
  23. present — the time now
  24. field — for sport

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