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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · dip · perch · jam · tear · track · kid · game

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. game — a match
  6. track — a song
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kid — child
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — a trail
  24. track — a path

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