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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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. press — a publisher
  4. dip — to sink
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — to go on
  7. track — a song
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. last — final
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. drill — the tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. track — a path
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. land — ground
  21. press — to push
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — finally
  24. land — a country

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