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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — the fish
  4. track — a path
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — final
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — a group
  10. rock — music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rock — a stone
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. track — a song
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — to trim
  22. club — for golf
  23. cold — an illness
  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