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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. roll — a cake
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — finally
  7. scale — size or range
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. roll — a list
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. last — final
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lie — to recline
  19. scale — in music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. track — a song
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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