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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: rush · land · perch · leaves · staff · hand · field · snap

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. hand — help
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. field — for sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. snap — to click
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — to come down
  10. perch — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. land — ground
  16. staff — employees
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — hurry
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. staff — employees
  24. leaves — to go away

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