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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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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. perch — the fish
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — a trace
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — rain
  13. track — a path
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — money
  23. track — a song
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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