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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 · last · leaves · land · present · tear · deal · field

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. land — ground
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. field — farmland
  7. last — final
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — for sport
  10. present — there
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — the time now
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. land — a country
  20. present — a gift
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. last — to go on
  24. field — a subject

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