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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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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 · pit · band · field · tear · chair · file · ground

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. pit — in a race
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ground — a position
  9. perch — the fish
  10. file — a tool
  11. chair — a leader
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. field — for sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pit — a hole
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chair — to sit on

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