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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. perch — the fish
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — a path
  9. deal — to handle
  10. track — a song
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — a short time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. spell — magic
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — an agreement

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