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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.

Make a worksheet

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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. track — a path
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. capital — money
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — to keep secret

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