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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. band — a ring
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lie — to recline

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