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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to click
  4. foot — a measure
  5. rash — a series
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rash — hasty
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. track — a path
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mate — to breed
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. perch — the fish
  21. mate — a friend
  22. track — to keep track
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wake — a trail

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