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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. squash — the sport
  5. last — final
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. capital — money
  9. last — finally
  10. mark — a trace
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — a city
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. track — to keep track
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. dip — to sink
  23. perch — the fish
  24. dip — a sauce

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