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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ball — a great time
  5. perch — the fish
  6. last — to go on
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. present — there
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. last — finally
  12. track — a path
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. last — final
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a dance
  24. present — the time now

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