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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. track — a path
  3. ball — a dance
  4. plane — a tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fall — to drop
  7. perch — the fish
  8. season — of the year
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. season — in sport
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fall — the season
  15. sharp — clever
  16. row — a line
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. row — to paddle
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. track — a song

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