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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — to drill
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bore — to tire
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — clever
  10. net — after costs
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pop — to visit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. track — a path
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. branch — a division
  18. track — a song
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. scale — in music

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