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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. can — to be able to
  6. march — music
  7. track — a song
  8. rash — hasty
  9. track — a path
  10. mate — a partner
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mate — a friend
  15. can — a tin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rash — a series
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. track — to keep track
  22. can — a tin
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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