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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — final
  3. rock — music
  4. file — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bound — tied together
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rash — a series
  10. file — a line of people
  11. track — a song
  12. kick — in football
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a document
  15. last — to go on
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rock — a stone
  19. track — a path
  20. bound — obliged
  21. last — finally
  22. bound — certain
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kick — a thrill

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