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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as 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. nail — on a finger
  2. row — a line
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. march — music
  6. lie — to recline
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — to paddle
  10. perch — the fish
  11. march — the month
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — the month
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  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