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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — magic
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. track — a song
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spell — a short time
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fall — the season
  13. track — to keep track
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — to come down
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. track — a path
  18. spell — letters
  19. stand — to bear
  20. land — ground
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — the month
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to click

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