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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. track — to keep track
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. track — a song
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — the fish
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. court — of a king
  24. present — the time now

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