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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. last — to go on
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — to tease
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — in sport
  11. last — final
  12. track — a path
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — to keep track
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — finally
  23. kid — child
  24. mine — an explosive

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