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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. track — to keep track
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — a position
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chest — a box
  13. track — a path
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — to grow
  21. capital — a city
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — a song
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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