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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. ground — crushed
  3. perch — the fish
  4. plane — a tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. mate — a partner
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mate — to breed
  11. track — a path
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a line
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. dip — to sink
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — the earth
  20. row — to paddle
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mate — a friend

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