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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. ball — a dance
  3. track — a song
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitch — completely
  15. perch — the fish
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. file — a document
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mate — a partner
  23. game — a match
  24. track — a path

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