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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — farmland
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. track — a path
  6. field — for sport
  7. scale — in music
  8. mate — to breed
  9. track — a song
  10. date — the fruit
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mate — a partner
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. track — to keep track
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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