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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. track — a song
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. track — a path
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — final
  17. perch — the fish
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. track — to keep track

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