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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. track — to keep track
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a path
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cell — in biology
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. tear — from crying
  10. roll — a cake
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. track — a song
  13. ground — a position
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. plane — a tool
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. tear — to rip
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ground — the earth
  21. roll — a list
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cell — a phone
  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