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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. track — a path
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. rock — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. root — of a word
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — a phone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cell — in biology
  23. root — the cause
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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