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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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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. perch — the fish
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — a friend
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spring — of water
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — a video
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. object — an aim
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mate — to breed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — hurry
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. object — a thing

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