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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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 path
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wax — to grow
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. season — of the year
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. season — in sport
  17. track — a song
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pound — a weight
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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