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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chest — of your body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. drill — a practice
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. track — a song
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. drill — army training

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