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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. wax — to grow
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bound — tied together
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — size or range
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bound — certain
  15. present — there
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. track — to keep track
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. game — a match
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — obliged

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