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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. firm — a company
  11. fine — all right
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — to shout
  14. track — a path
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. firm — steady
  18. perch — the fish
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ground — a position
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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