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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mate — to breed
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. last — to go on
  5. track — a song
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — to get on
  9. track — a path
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. board — a committee
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. band — a ring
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a music group
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. perch — for a bird

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