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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. track — a path
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — to go on
  5. fine — high quality
  6. last — finally
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mug — a face
  12. field — for sport
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. mug — to rob
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mug — a cup
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — all right

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