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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: perch · coach · rule · clip · game · wake · firm · field

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — farmland
  4. clip — to cut
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. firm — a company
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — a match
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. field — for sport
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. firm — steady
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. firm — decided

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