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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. track — to keep track
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — final
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — size or range
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. track — a song
  11. last — finally
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. club — for golf
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — to go on
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — a group
  22. track — a path
  23. club — for dancing
  24. perch — for a bird

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