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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spring — of water
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chip — to eat
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. track — a song
  23. bat — the animal
  24. track — a path

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