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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 · field · squash · fan · bowl · can · pitcher · rash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — a series
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. can — a tin
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. perch — for a bird
  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