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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.

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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mug — a face
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a song
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — of the year
  10. present — the time now
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. present — there
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mug — to rob
  17. present — a gift
  18. mug — a cup

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