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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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468
Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — the fish
  9. key — in music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bass — low music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. track — to keep track
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cold — an illness

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