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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — a country
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bound — obliged
  7. track — to keep track
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pound — a weight
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bound — tied together
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. track — a path
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bound — certain
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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