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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. track — a song
  6. land — ground
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. track — to keep track
  9. key — in music
  10. season — of the year
  11. land — to come down
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. last — to go on
  17. perch — the fish
  18. season — in sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. land — a country
  21. last — final
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pit — a hole

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