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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. perch — the fish
  5. last — final
  6. track — a path
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — a song
  12. last — to go on
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. last — finally
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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