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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rule — a law
  4. track — a path
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. track — a song
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. rule — government
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. game — a match
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. calf — of the leg

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