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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — the fish
  4. season — of the year
  5. rush — hurry
  6. track — a song
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — rain
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. season — in sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. track — a path
  24. season — to add flavour

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