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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spell — letters
  3. track — to keep track
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. row — to paddle
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. spell — magic
  21. mate — a partner
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spell — a short time

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