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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. craft — boats
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mate — a friend
  5. track — to keep track
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. track — a path
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. present — there
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mate — a partner
  13. craft — a skill
  14. land — ground
  15. present — the time now
  16. mate — to breed
  17. track — a song
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. land — a country
  21. present — a gift
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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