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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 124 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. last — final
  5. track — a path
  6. last — to go on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pit — a hole
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. board — a committee
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. board — to get on
  21. last — finally
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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