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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. perch — the fish
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bass — the fish
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hand — help
  13. race — humankind
  14. cell — a phone
  15. race — the arms race
  16. track — to keep track
  17. race — a contest
  18. bass — low music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cell — in biology
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — in cards

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