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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. key — for a lock
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — to go on
  11. track — a song
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. key — the most important part
  14. perch — the fish
  15. track — a path
  16. key — in music
  17. last — finally
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. last — final
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — for sport
  24. clip — a video

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