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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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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: mug · cap · stick · perch · field · race · snap · chest

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mug — a cup
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — a subject
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mug — to rob
  9. field — farmland
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. race — a contest
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mug — a face
  20. chest — a box
  21. snap — to click
  22. perch — the fish
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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