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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — a practice
  5. track — a song
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. press — to push
  11. fine — high quality
  12. kid — child
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — to tease
  17. drill — army training
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fine — all right
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. press — a publisher

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