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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. last — to go on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — help
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. track — a song
  10. last — finally
  11. perch — the fish
  12. present — the time now
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — final
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. present — there
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — with your hand

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