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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. season — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — of the year
  7. rock — music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bat — the animal
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. track — a song
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cold — not warm
  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