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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. track — to keep track
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. track — a path
  8. rush — hurry
  9. board — to get on
  10. mate — a friend
  11. track — a song
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mate — to breed
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. board — a committee
  23. prune — to trim
  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