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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. track — a path
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — money
  10. dip — to sink
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. perch — the fish
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. track — a song
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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