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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — to keep track
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. staff — employees
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. staff — employees
  13. perch — the fish
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. track — a path
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. land — a country
  20. staff — a stick
  21. file — a document
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. track — a song
  24. file — a tool

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