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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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 path
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. track — a song
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — not warm

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