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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: kid · content · race · field · board · season · perch · track

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. season — of the year
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. board — to get on
  7. race — humankind
  8. field — a subject
  9. content — happy
  10. perch — the fish
  11. season — in sport
  12. kid — child
  13. content — the amount
  14. board — a committee
  15. race — the arms race
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. field — farmland
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — to keep track
  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