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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chair — a leader
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. current — electric
  12. track — a song
  13. current — of water
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cell — in biology
  16. track — a path
  17. rock — a stone
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — music
  21. current — happening now
  22. snap — to click
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — for a bird

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